Friday, July 28, 2006
A Week of Experiments
We've reached the end of our second week of teaching in the program. Overall, it was a good week. One good thing about creating a curriculum is that you get to do some experimenting as you go along, which is what we did this week. One of our experiments was with the experiential learning activity we did with the students on Tuesday at Beomeosa (temple); however, like with a lot of experiments, this did not produce the results we were hoping for. It did not seem to be well received by the students because we were informed by an e-mail from Dr. Kim that if we wanted to do more of these, they needed to be scheduled for after class or on the weekends. So I'm not sure if we'll be doing others.
Another experiment I tried this week was with podcasting, which is like blogging, but it's done with audio files. I introduced students to it yesterday and today and gave them their first assignment, which is to record advice they would give to a foreigner on how to get accustomed to living in Korea. The purpose of including podcasting as one of the daily assignments is to have a recording of each student's speech that can be accessed at any time to determine pronunciation, (spoken) grammar, etc. troublespots in order to better help the students improve their spoken English. The first podcast is due on Monday, but I'm not sure if this is going to work. Most students don't have access to a microphone or an MP3 player that records. I'll blog more on this later.
Yesterday we started the topic of culture and talked about it in a general sense; today we talked about race and ethnicity. I found that these two topics generated some interesting class discussions, particularly in regards to issues of discrimination in the Korean culture about workers from SE Asian cultures and illegal immigrant workers.
With the end of our second week we've also seen an end to the rain. Yesterday and today we had blue skies and white fluffy clouds. But in exchange for the rain, we now have some heat. I still haven't figured out what I like more - rainy or hot days. ;)
Another experiment I tried this week was with podcasting, which is like blogging, but it's done with audio files. I introduced students to it yesterday and today and gave them their first assignment, which is to record advice they would give to a foreigner on how to get accustomed to living in Korea. The purpose of including podcasting as one of the daily assignments is to have a recording of each student's speech that can be accessed at any time to determine pronunciation, (spoken) grammar, etc. troublespots in order to better help the students improve their spoken English. The first podcast is due on Monday, but I'm not sure if this is going to work. Most students don't have access to a microphone or an MP3 player that records. I'll blog more on this later.
Yesterday we started the topic of culture and talked about it in a general sense; today we talked about race and ethnicity. I found that these two topics generated some interesting class discussions, particularly in regards to issues of discrimination in the Korean culture about workers from SE Asian cultures and illegal immigrant workers.
With the end of our second week we've also seen an end to the rain. Yesterday and today we had blue skies and white fluffy clouds. But in exchange for the rain, we now have some heat. I still haven't figured out what I like more - rainy or hot days. ;)
# posted by About Me @ 8:53 AM 
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You know you can download audacity and just record podcasts with your laptop mike. you don't need an mp3 player either to record or listen
Hi Everyone,*
Well, it seems you're scattering around this weekend, with
Stuart
and Lisya heading to Seoul and Cate and Charm staying in Busan (but I'm
sure getting out and about). Stuart, congratulations on your diligence
and
enthusiasm in attending the TESOL conference in Seoul, and Lisya, I
like
your spirit in setting out on the trip to Seoul by bus and with one of
your
students. Cate and Charm, I've enjoyed your comments on the teaching
and
your photo from the BBQ place near your apartment. Although I''m not
exactly a big BBQ fan (being a vegetarian), I'd enjoy going there with
all
of you during my visit.
I've just visited Cate and Lisya's blotspots (as you can
probably
tell), and I was really struck by your comments regarding the
experiential
learning situation. I must confess that I was disappointed (though not
all
that surprised) by the mixed reactions of the students and the email
from
Dr. Kim. As I think we discussed in our meeting before you left
Columbus,
you're dealing there with much more conventional notions of teaching
and
learning. Stepping outside the box is often not welcome. Then, too,
probably no activity will appeal equally to all students when you deal
with
the number you have. At any rate, I like the fact that you tried. I've
also found your comments about the success of the culture activities
very
interesting and encouraging.
I don't know how relevant this is to your situation, but I
recall
telling you in our meeting that in Hong Kong I found that students felt
best when they walked away from a class session with some specific,
concrete notions of what they had learned. That's why I usually started
class sessions with 5-10 minutes of language presentation, that is, me
introducing them to specific expressions and words. I would then try to
generate some activities where they had opportunities to use what I had
introduced. I'm of course not the first person to follow such an
approach,
so I'm not claiming any originality in this, but I always found that
this
approach went over well. At the end of a class session, or later on if
students complained, I'd remind them of how much language had been
introduced to them. And since you're following a thematic approach, you
might try something like this where the words and phrases fit the
themes at
hand. It would be easy to come up with relevant words and phrases for
the
themes you're working within. These could be effective warm-up
materials
that could lead in to what ever you do in class afterwards. Hope this
suggestion is useful. Perhaps you're already doing something like this.
I've been thinking about ways in which I can be involved and
helpful while I'm there during the last week of the course, and I've
been
wondering in part about your plans for assessing (i.e. grading) the
students. If you've not yet worked out any specific plans, one option
we
might consider is a kind of "exit interview" or "exit conversation"
approach. Whether this would be me and all (or some) of you and one or
more
students, I don't know--that's something to decide--but this might be a
good way to wrap things up. And my presence as someone new, an
outsider,
would lend some validity to the process, since I have no prior
connections
to the students. Please understand that this is just a suggestion on my
part. Don't hesitate to ignore it, or to make alternative
suggestions. Again, you may well have made plans already, and that's
fine. I'm just trying to find a way to be especially helpful to you
while
I'm there. An alternative would be for me to come to some classes and
participate in whatever activities you have planned. Knowing that I'm
available as a partner in some activities might help with your
planning.
Perhaps you can think about this during the coming week.
Here at OSU we're proceeding pretty quietly, as you can well
imagine. Oh, there is some exciting news that you may already be aware
of:
in the Autumn Quarter, Gordon Wells is going to be offering a Monday
evening seminar dealing with Bahktin. I don't know the course number of
any
other details, but if you're looking for something to take and want an
experience with a true world-class scholar, here's your opportunity.
It seems hard to believe that you've already finished two weeks
of
teaching. All the comments I've read and received indicate that you've
been
very dedicated and creative teachers. I'm proud of all of you.
Enjoy the weekend, and congratulations, Lisya, on your success
with
IRB.
Dr. H
*an e-mail received 7/28/06 in response to our blogs
Well, it seems you're scattering around this weekend, with
Stuart
and Lisya heading to Seoul and Cate and Charm staying in Busan (but I'm
sure getting out and about). Stuart, congratulations on your diligence
and
enthusiasm in attending the TESOL conference in Seoul, and Lisya, I
like
your spirit in setting out on the trip to Seoul by bus and with one of
your
students. Cate and Charm, I've enjoyed your comments on the teaching
and
your photo from the BBQ place near your apartment. Although I''m not
exactly a big BBQ fan (being a vegetarian), I'd enjoy going there with
all
of you during my visit.
I've just visited Cate and Lisya's blotspots (as you can
probably
tell), and I was really struck by your comments regarding the
experiential
learning situation. I must confess that I was disappointed (though not
all
that surprised) by the mixed reactions of the students and the email
from
Dr. Kim. As I think we discussed in our meeting before you left
Columbus,
you're dealing there with much more conventional notions of teaching
and
learning. Stepping outside the box is often not welcome. Then, too,
probably no activity will appeal equally to all students when you deal
with
the number you have. At any rate, I like the fact that you tried. I've
also found your comments about the success of the culture activities
very
interesting and encouraging.
I don't know how relevant this is to your situation, but I
recall
telling you in our meeting that in Hong Kong I found that students felt
best when they walked away from a class session with some specific,
concrete notions of what they had learned. That's why I usually started
class sessions with 5-10 minutes of language presentation, that is, me
introducing them to specific expressions and words. I would then try to
generate some activities where they had opportunities to use what I had
introduced. I'm of course not the first person to follow such an
approach,
so I'm not claiming any originality in this, but I always found that
this
approach went over well. At the end of a class session, or later on if
students complained, I'd remind them of how much language had been
introduced to them. And since you're following a thematic approach, you
might try something like this where the words and phrases fit the
themes at
hand. It would be easy to come up with relevant words and phrases for
the
themes you're working within. These could be effective warm-up
materials
that could lead in to what ever you do in class afterwards. Hope this
suggestion is useful. Perhaps you're already doing something like this.
I've been thinking about ways in which I can be involved and
helpful while I'm there during the last week of the course, and I've
been
wondering in part about your plans for assessing (i.e. grading) the
students. If you've not yet worked out any specific plans, one option
we
might consider is a kind of "exit interview" or "exit conversation"
approach. Whether this would be me and all (or some) of you and one or
more
students, I don't know--that's something to decide--but this might be a
good way to wrap things up. And my presence as someone new, an
outsider,
would lend some validity to the process, since I have no prior
connections
to the students. Please understand that this is just a suggestion on my
part. Don't hesitate to ignore it, or to make alternative
suggestions. Again, you may well have made plans already, and that's
fine. I'm just trying to find a way to be especially helpful to you
while
I'm there. An alternative would be for me to come to some classes and
participate in whatever activities you have planned. Knowing that I'm
available as a partner in some activities might help with your
planning.
Perhaps you can think about this during the coming week.
Here at OSU we're proceeding pretty quietly, as you can well
imagine. Oh, there is some exciting news that you may already be aware
of:
in the Autumn Quarter, Gordon Wells is going to be offering a Monday
evening seminar dealing with Bahktin. I don't know the course number of
any
other details, but if you're looking for something to take and want an
experience with a true world-class scholar, here's your opportunity.
It seems hard to believe that you've already finished two weeks
of
teaching. All the comments I've read and received indicate that you've
been
very dedicated and creative teachers. I'm proud of all of you.
Enjoy the weekend, and congratulations, Lisya, on your success
with
IRB.
Dr. H
*an e-mail received 7/28/06 in response to our blogs
Dr. H,*
That's great! We would love to have you in our classes.
The theme when you are here will be Education, so feel free to plan a
lesson/s, and let us know so that we could tie it in with our lessons.
However, if you would like to bring in any topics you think would be
interesting to the students, you are welcome, as well.
In terms of the exit interviews, since we were not involved in the
placement testing of the students, we've decided we would not do it. More
importantly, Dr. Kim decided that this would not be a graded class, but
a pass/fail one, as you might know from the syllabus we sent you.
Looking forward to seeing you,
Cate, Charm, Lisya, and Stuart
*an e-mail sent 7/30/06 in response to his e-mail sent on 7/28/06
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That's great! We would love to have you in our classes.
The theme when you are here will be Education, so feel free to plan a
lesson/s, and let us know so that we could tie it in with our lessons.
However, if you would like to bring in any topics you think would be
interesting to the students, you are welcome, as well.
In terms of the exit interviews, since we were not involved in the
placement testing of the students, we've decided we would not do it. More
importantly, Dr. Kim decided that this would not be a graded class, but
a pass/fail one, as you might know from the syllabus we sent you.
Looking forward to seeing you,
Cate, Charm, Lisya, and Stuart
*an e-mail sent 7/30/06 in response to his e-mail sent on 7/28/06
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